Sudurpaschim vs Chitwan Match 11 Preview: Royals vs Rhinos

Sudurpaschim meet Chitwan in NPL Match 11 on Monday evening at Kirtipur, as the Royals chase a second win and the unbeaten Rhinos look to stay in the top four.

Monday evening brings the second game of the double-header at TU Ground, Kirtipur. Sudurpaschim Royals face Chitwan Rhinos in NPL Season 3 Match 11 on Monday, 2 November 2026, starting at 5:00 PM NST. After nine matches, Sudurpaschim sit sixth with two points from three matches, while Chitwan sit fourth with three points from two matches and no defeat yet. Dipendra Singh Airee captains Sudurpaschim with Misbah-ul-Haq as head coach, and Kushal Malla captains Chitwan with Sohail Tanvir as head coach. One shared surname adds a wrinkle to the team sheets: Chitwan bowler Kamal Singh Airee is not Sudurpaschim captain Dipendra Singh Airee, and the playing XIs are only confirmed at the toss.

Royals need a response

Sudurpaschim opened the season with a heavy defeat. Lumbini bowled the Royals out for 87 in the season opener on 26 October and chased the target in 9.5 overs to win by seven wickets. Anil Kharel took two wickets for nine runs in that game, and his three wickets for 23 runs against Pokhara in Match 4 showed the same threat with the ball. Sudurpaschim answered the opening defeat with a six wicket win over Pokhara in Match 4, chasing 148 for four in 16.5 overs after Pokhara had posted 145 for seven. Captain Dipendra Singh Airee led that chase with 51 not out off 36 balls and was named Player of the Match, and the win steadied a campaign that had started badly.

Saturday brought a different kind of defeat. Match 8 against Biratnagar was reduced to five overs per side after rain, and Sudurpaschim lost by 35 runs after Biratnagar posted 105 for two and held the Royals to 70 for three. Abinash Bohara took two wickets for 28 runs in that short game, and the defeat dropped Sudurpaschim to sixth place with a net run rate of minus 2.413, the worst in the league after nine matches. Airee has scored 78 runs in the season so far, plus one run off five balls in the five over game, and the Royals need their captain to lead with the bat again on Monday evening. A win over Chitwan would take Sudurpaschim to four points and back into the top four conversation, while a defeat would leave them on two points from four matches with the worst net run rate in the league.

Rhinos unbeaten so far

Chitwan started with a win that showed both batting depth and bowling bite. Chitwan posted 157 for three against Biratnagar in Match 2 and defended it to win by eight runs, with Biratnagar bowled out for 149 in 19.3 overs. Dawid Malan scored 70 off 50 balls at the top of the order, and Kamal Singh Airee took four wickets for 26 runs and was named Player of the Match. Malan and Kamal gave Chitwan a win built on both halves of the game, and the Rhinos have not lost since.

Chitwan were due to face Lumbini in Match 7 on Saturday, but that game was abandoned without a toss after rain, and each side took one point. After nine matches, Chitwan sit fourth with three points from two matches and a net run rate of plus 0.400, behind Lumbini only on net run rate among the sides on three points. Kushal Malla captains the side with Sohail Tanvir as head coach, and the Rhinos arrive on Monday evening as one of three unbeaten sides left, alongside league leaders Karnali and defending champions Lumbini. A win over Sudurpaschim would take Chitwan to five points and strengthen their hold on a top four place, while a defeat would keep them on three points and drag them toward the logjam below.

What to watch

Shared surnames will confuse the scorecard readers at least once. Dipendra Singh Airee leads Sudurpaschim and bats in the middle order, while Kamal Singh Airee bowls for Chitwan and took four wickets in his side’s only completed match. Both Airees matter to this game, and telling them apart is part of following it.

Sudurpaschim batting is the bigger question. Totals of 87 all out in the opener and 70 for three in the five over game show a batting line up that has not fired yet, and the 148 for four against Pokhara stands as the exception rather than the pattern. Chitwan bowling, led by Kamal after his four wicket haul against Biratnagar, will test that batting early at Kirtipur. Sudurpaschim bowling has shown more, with Kharel taking wickets in both completed matches and Bohara striking twice in the short game, and the Royals will need early wickets to keep Chitwan below a comfortable total.

Points give the game its edge. A Sudurpaschim win would lift the Royals to four points and into the playoff race proper, while a Chitwan win would lift the Rhinos to five points and keep their unbeaten start intact. Neither side can afford to treat Monday evening as a free hit, and the side that handles the evening conditions better should take it.

How to watch

NetTV streams the match worldwide, and Himalaya TV broadcasts it in Nepal. In India, Star Sports carries it on television and FanCode streams it. Tickets are sold through eSewa, the league’s exclusive ticketing partner, with General tickets at NPR 500 and Premium at NPR 1,000. All 28 league-stage matches of Season 3 are played at TU Ground, Kirtipur.